Chapter 88

Watching Madam Wang's retreating figure, Fu Tingjun breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

This way, her conflict with Madam Feng and her brother was reduced to a simple personal grudge. Even if Deputy General Liu wanted to shield his favored concubine, he would have to tread carefully—at the very least, he could restrain Madam Feng and give her some breathing room.

She turned and went back to the lodgings Madam Wang had arranged for her.

It was a two-room annex. The Zheng couple and A Sen stayed at the south end, while she stayed at the north end. When she entered, Zheng Sanniang was tidying up.

"Miss, you're back!" She poured Fu Tingjun a cup of tea and handed it to her, speaking in a low voice with a smile, "I heard from others that below the commander-in-chief is the deputy general, and below the deputy general is the assistant commander. I never expected Madam Wang's residence to be so cramped!"

Ever since Zhao Ling had joined the military registry, everyone had become very attentive to military ranks, titles, and garrison posts, and had learned quite a bit about such matters.

"Keep your voice down—we're in someone else's home, and walls have ears." Fu Tingjun shot Zheng Sanniang a glare and said, "So we should be all the more grateful that Madam Wang has taken us in!"

When she had first come here, she too had been surprised to see that the Wang family occupied only three main rooms plus a two-room annex. Fortunately, Assistant Commander Wang had gone to Xining; otherwise, she wouldn't have felt comfortable seeking refuge here.

Zheng Sanniang nodded repeatedly.

Madam Wang's personal attendant, accompanied by a maidservant, brought over washing supplies: "Miss Fu, please make do with these."

"Thank you for your trouble, ma'am!" Fu Tingjun politely expressed her gratitude to Madam Wang's attendant, who had been forced to give up her own quarters—shared with two maidservants—to accommodate their arrival.

"No need for thanks, no need for thanks." Because Zheng San had once taken the initiative to greet her when passing by Fu Tingjun's home, this attendant held a favorable impression of Fu Tingjun and her companions. "If you need anything, just let me know. Treat this place as your own home."

Fu Tingjun thanked her again, and Madam Wang's attendant withdrew with the maidservant.

Someone was peeking in from outside the door.

Fu Tingjun looked toward the doorway and saw a small face as rosy as an apple.

It was the Wang family's second young miss.

Fu Tingjun smiled and beckoned to her.

She immediately ran in beaming: "Sister Fu, Sister Fu, why did you just leave and now you're back again?" She asked with complete innocence.

Fu Tingjun couldn't help but laugh: "There's a bit of trouble at my home, so I'll be staying at your house for a few days. Is that all right?"

"Wonderful, wonderful!" She was delighted, and with her big round eyes wide open, she asked Fu Tingjun, "Then could you help me embroider a handkerchief?"

Fu Tingjun was taken aback.

The Wang family's second young miss said with a troubled look, "In a few months it will be my grandmother's birthday. Mother wants me to embroider a handkerchief for Grandmother, and my elder sister is embroidering a pouch for her, but I've already tried several handkerchiefs and none of them turned out well..."

Fu Tingjun smiled gently: "It's the thought that counts—a gift of a feather from a thousand miles away is still a token of affection. It doesn't matter whether your embroidery is good or not; what matters is that you made it with your own hands—it's your heartfelt gesture." Hearing the implication in her words that she was declining, the Wang family's second young miss looked crestfallen. But then Fu Tingjun changed tack and said, "How about this—I'll give you some pointers?"

The Wang family's second young miss's eyes lit up: "Yes, yes, please!"

The household had only one attendant and two maidservants, and there was always much to do.

Smiling, Fu Tingjun opened the box of pastries that Madam Wang's attendant had just brought and offered it to the Wang family's second young miss: "Here, have some sweets."

The Wang family's second young miss's eyes curved into crescent moons as she picked up a piece of frosty candied winter melon: "Sister Fu, this one's sweet—it's the best!"

"Then have as much as you like!" As Fu Tingjun spoke, someone knocked on the door outside: "Sister Fu, is my little sister in there?"

Hearing this, the Wang family's second young miss looked utterly dismayed and called out loudly, "I'm in here! Sister."

The Wang family's eldest young miss walked in, bending her knees in a curtsey to Fu Tingjun: "Sister Fu, sorry to disturb you." Then she took her younger sister's hand. "Sister Fu has only just arrived and hasn't even unpacked yet, and you come running over to make mischief. Come back with me at once. Once Sister Fu has settled in, Mother will naturally arrange for us to pay our respects properly. Who behaves like you, barging in without a thought for whether it's convenient for others?" She had quite the air of an elder sister.

"It's quite all right—I wasn't doing anything important!" Fu Tingjun quickly came to the second young miss's defense.

The Wang family's second young miss shot her a grateful look.

The eldest young miss then pulled her sister away to take their leave.

As they went out the door, one could still hear the eldest young miss's complaints: "Can't you be still for a moment? Mother said Miss Fu comes from a distinguished family—if you carry on like this, she'll laugh at you. Do you understand or not..."

Fu Tingjun couldn't help but purse her lips in a smile. After washing up and drinking a cup of hot tea, her mind gradually settled, and she turned her thoughts to the purpose of Madam Wang's visit.

She wondered what sort of face that Deputy General Liu would show.

She hoped this was all a fabrication Madam Feng had made up to deceive her.

As for the rumor that Commander Lu had been hidden away by the Marquis of Yingchuan—she wondered whether the Marquis of Xiping had any part in that.

Fu Tingjun was mulling this over when Madam Wang returned.

She came directly to the small room where Fu Tingjun was staying.

Zheng Sanniang served tea, then hurriedly picked up Linchun and withdrew outside.

Madam Wang and Fu Tingjun sat on the kang and talked.

"It really turned out just as you predicted." Her expression was somewhat grim. "When I brought this up with Lord Liu, he denied it outright, saying it was all rumor, and that Madam Feng must have heard it from someone else. Women like to gossip about household matters, especially someone like Madam Feng who hasn't read much—he told me not to bother with her. Then he pressed me, demanding to know who had told me about this. I was afraid of causing trouble for you, so I didn't mention your name. But based on my judgment, this matter is nine times out of ten just Madam Feng making things up. There are some things you might not know—if not for the Marquis of Yingchuan, Lord Liu would have been promoted to Grand Coordinator of Gansu. Lord Liu has always been unwilling to remain subordinate to the Marquis of Yingchuan. He joined forces with the Marquis of Xiping, trying to sideline the Marquis of Yingchuan, but the Marquis of Yingchuan is no pushover either. After several rounds of confrontation, not only did Lord Liu and the Marquis of Xiping fail to gain any advantage, they ended up being the ones sidelined by the Marquis of Yingchuan. They had no choice but to pray that the Marquis of Yingchuan would win battle after battle and catch the Emperor's favor to be recalled to the capital..."

Fu Tingjun stared at Madam Wang in astonishment.

She truly hadn't expected... for an official to reach the level of the Marquis of Yingchuan—that could be said to be looking down upon all his colleagues!

As she pondered this, she heard Madam Wang analyze the matter: "So, if the Marquis of Yingchuan really did hide the defeated Commander Lu, he would absolutely never let Lord Liu know about it."

Fu Tingjun's heart came alive again.

"So that means... Banner-bearer Zhao most likely has nothing to worry about!" she murmured, the joy at the corners of her eyes and brows too obvious to hide.

Sometimes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

Zhao Ling's position was too low—even if something had happened, the General's Office wouldn't know about it for some time.

Madam Wang was afraid of the worst... that Fu Tingjun wouldn't be able to bear the blow, so she said tactfully, "Don't worry too much. Wei Shi should be back in a few days. Then everything will be clear."

Zhao Ling served under Commander Lu—if there was news of Commander Lu, there would be news of Zhao Ling... Fu Tingjun had always thought this way, and upon hearing this, she couldn't help but nod.

Madam Wang rose to take her leave: "I'll go back to my room to freshen up. We'll have dinner together later."

Fu Tingjun saw Madam Wang to the door and ran into Madam Wang's personal attendant.

The woman was walking hurriedly, with a strange expression—half-smiling, half-not.

Madam Wang quickly asked, "What's happened?"

The attendant glanced at Fu Tingjun.

Madam Wang could see from the attendant's expression that it wasn't bad news, so she wasn't afraid of Fu Tingjun hearing it. She said, "There are no outsiders here. Just say it directly."

The attendant burst out laughing: "Madam, a fight has broken out at Lord Liu's place!"

Madam Wang and Fu Tingjun didn't understand at first.

The attendant laughed even harder: "I don't know why, but Concubine Feng had just returned from outside when Lord Liu called her into the inner chamber and gave her a thorough scolding. He got so carried away that he even kicked her. Concubine Feng ran crying to the side room, grabbed her son, and threatened to jump into the river. Lord Liu chased after her all the way to the second hall, where Concubine Feng sat on the threshold and wailed, saying, 'If it weren't for me giving you a son, your Liu family wouldn't have anyone to carry on the ancestral line! I've served you with all my heart, and yet you scold me over an outsider—I don't want to live anymore!'... The onlookers were packed in layers upon layers—more than half of the General's Office staff were there!"

Madam Wang and Fu Tingjun were shocked, vaguely guessing that this was related to Madam Feng's talk about the Marquis of Yingchuan hiding Commander Lu. Madam Wang couldn't help feeling somewhat uneasy, but Fu Tingjun said, "We neither exaggerated nor fabricated anything—we're completely aboveboard. Even if she came to question me, I would answer her the same way."

Madam Wang laughed heartily at this: "It seems I was being too rigid!" And with that, she let go of her concerns.

...

After having dinner with Madam Wang and the two young ladies of the Wang family, Fu Tingjun had Zheng San and the others come in to pay their respects to Madam Wang.

Madam Wang had met Zheng San and his wife before; only A Sen was unfamiliar to her. With his delicate features and a lively air about him, he radiated a cheerful energy that was quite endearing. When A Sen bowed to her, she paid special attention and asked Fu Tingjun, "This is..."

Fu Tingjun recalled how grieved she had been that day over Zhao Ling having no one to offer him sacrifices. After a moment's thought, she said, "This is Banner-bearer Zhao's sworn younger brother. His parents both passed away, and he was raised by Banner-bearer Zhao from a young age. His name is Zhao Sen."

Zheng San, his wife, and A Sen were all surprised, but fearing that Fu Tingjun might have her reasons for saying this, they all lowered their eyes to conceal their unsettled feelings.

Madam Wang, as a mother, couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy seeing how well-behaved A Sen was. The reward she gave to Zheng San and his wife was two five-fen silver ingots, but for Zhao Sen, she had a camphorwood sword: "I brought this from Fujian. When the child is young, he can use it to practice swordplay; when he grows up, he can keep it in his trunk to ward off insects."

Fu Tingjun thanked her again and again.

Madam Wang then began telling Fu Tingjun about her childhood in Fujian.

Meanwhile, the Second Miss of the Wang family waved at A Sen.

A Sen, remembering that Fu Tingjun had said he was Ninth Master's sworn younger brother, knew he couldn't bring shame to Ninth Master. He sat up straight and proper, using his gaze to refuse the Second Miss's invitation.

The Second Miss found this amusing and kept staring at him.

A Sen had never been stared at like this by a young girl before. Gradually, he grew restless, and a flush of red crept across his face.

Beside them, the First Miss of the Wang family covered her mouth and laughed silently.

A Sen's face grew redder and redder, deeper and deeper.